Academic Progress Rate APR

The NCAA calculates the Academic Progress Rate (or “APR” for short) for every athletic department to determine how effective they are at ensuring that their student-athletes are successfully moving forward towards graduation.  If an individual sport within an athletic department scores too low, then they may be subject to penalties by the NCAA that can include removing a scholarship from future years.  Volleyball might only be able to award 11 not 12 for two seasons—note that this is done in such a way that it does not effect players currently on scholarship, rather it limits the number that the team can offer to high school seniors.

The APR is a point system calculated at the end of each semester.  It assigns up to two points for each scholarship athlete on the team: one point for remaining academically eligible, and a second point for not transferring to another school.  The total points for each scholarship athlete are added together and then divided by the total possible points the team could have earned.  The resulting ratio is the team’s APR score.

Example
At the end of the 1st semester the following members of the Generic University volleyball team scored the following:

To see a Schools APR Score go HERE

To see a Glossary of Definitions and Explanations go HERE

Total Score 18/24 = 0.75 or 75% (Fail) 925 or 92.5% is the passing grade.

APR Score ranges:
Below 90: Bad
90-95: Borderline.  Worth checking details of why kids are either failing out or transferring out of the program
95-100: Excellent

This score is calculated each semester and any team with a score below 92.5% may be subject to NCAA penalties.  (The APR is totalled each semester and they use the average for the year to determine any sanctions or penalties that apply.)

As you can see, teams are rewarded for encouraging good work in the classroom (so that players are academically eligible) and for creating a positive learning environment in which player want to stay in the program (so that they return to school the following semester).
From Volleyball Prospects Canada’s perspective the APR is a pretty good system. It certainly encourages coaches to recruit student-athletes who will make the grade academically. It also rewards coaches and programs who create a positive learning environment. Now programs like Cincinnati Men’s Basketball will have to change their ways. In the last 9 years they have graduated exactly….wait for it!….zero players! Nine years! If they do that now with the APR they will have their scholarships cut down to about 5 instead of 13.

It is worth noting that there are plenty of legitimate reasons for a player to transfer, however if a coach is loosing 3 players every year (which has happened at some places in the past) then it will show up on the APR score. This is not to say that coaches can’t (or shouldn’t) cut players. An athletic scholarship is exactly like an academic one…there is no academic scholarship on earth that will continue to be awarded if a student begins to fail classes. Likewise, no athletic scholarship will continue to be awarded to a player who isn’t “passing” athletically. However, most athletes are fully capable and willing to do the work to “pass”… it only happens once every 3-4 years that you get someone who isn’t.
When you visit or talk to a school it is always a good idea to ask for the team’s APR score.  If it is low then you know that either the players are not successfully academically, or they are leaving the program.  Because some people do transfer for legitimate reasons—death in the family, want to be closer to home etc.—every team (in any sport) can have a poor year now and then.  However, if a programs APR scores have been poor a number of times, then this is a good indication that something isn’t good!